Rumors
by Racke
Summary: It's an ordinary day... but why are everyone looking at me like that...?


Rumors

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

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Damn this hill. Why do I have to walk up this ridiculously steep hill every day? Couldn't they've built the school somewhere else? Preferably somewhere where hills were a thing of the past, a place were all the roads were flat. Truly, that place would be heaven.

Oh well, at least there's not a certain noisy person here this morning.

"Good morning Kyon!"

Forget what I said earlier, this just turned from bad to worse. How can he be so energetic so early in the morning? How can he be so happy despite having to walk up this damn hill? Clearly Taniguchi is a person filled to the brim with mysteries.

No, that's a lie. Taniguchi's just a pervert, which sort of explains why he's hurrying to the school so happily. There are a lot of beautiful girls in our school, don't ask me why, I don't have a clue, there just are.

"So," as he speaks his arm settles over my shoulders. "What's going on with you and Suzumiya nowadays?" he grins, clearly enjoying poking fun at me.

"I wouldn't know what you're talking about," and get your arm off of me before I start trying to break it. I don't want to go to jail for something like unprovoked assault. Or do I? Damn it Taniguchi, get the hell off me! I'm starting to question my morale values here!

"Come on, you can tell me."

I seriously doubt that. In fact, I'm pretty sure you're the number one person that I can't tell, something about being unable to read the mood, being a pain in the ass, and being unable to keep quiet for longer than five minutes – which might be related to why Haruhi rejected you in said time.

This conversation continued until the school gates – damn that hill for making them so hard to reach – where I was finally able to find an excuse to get away from him. The excuse went somewhere along the lines of visiting the clubroom for some reason, so that's where I went.

The clubroom isn't my favorite place to go, it's actually pretty far down the list, but it was better than spending time with Taniguchi while he was still in his 'gossip mode'.

Knocking on the door before entering has become very much a force of habit. Although I don't particularly _mind_ walking in on Asahina while she's changing, I keep feeling guilty about it, so I try not to. Knocking on the door so early in the morning though is basically useless, it's not like there's even going to be anyone inside.

I sigh as I open the door. Oh well, at least Haruhi isn't going to be here. Wait. Why does that make me feel slightly disappointed? Have I gone so far into my insanity, that I'd actually _miss_ being around Haruhi?

"Ah, good morning Kyon," I blink.

Wait, what? I stare in mild disbelief at the person who greeted me so early in the morning. That welcoming smile, that for some reason always makes me want to punch him.

What the hell are you doing here so early in the morning Koizumi? And stop smiling like that so early in the day, it's pissing me off. By the way, why do I get this feeling that I've interrupted something?

I stare at the two occupiers of the clubroom, Koizumi seems to be acting normal – except for this strange feeling I keep picking up from him that makes me feel as if he's disappointed by something – Nagato also seems to be acting reasonably normal, although she seems to be reading her book with a glare – Nagato can glare at people, what a terrifying thought.

This all leads me to the conclusion that they were talking about something, and that my arrival interrupted them. I kind of get the feeling that I should go somewhere else, but where? If I go back to the classroom I'll have to put up with Taniguchi, so that option is out. This only leaves me with nothing but walking down the corridors _really_ slowly until the class starts. So, how should I excuse myself from this awkward situation then?

'Sorry to interrupt you, please continue'? That would be a really awkward thing to do, but I'm starting to think that I won't be able to come up with anything else… let's just go with something like 'Sorry, I was looking for Haruhi, have you seen her?', wow, that was brilliant. Let's use that one. It might be a lie, but it's a _white_ lie, so it should be forgiven, even if it were to be somehow discovered by Haruhi.

"Suzumiya? No I haven't seen her today, maybe you should check your classroom?" Koizumi is till wearing that annoying smile, but I've got more pressing matters to think about right now.

Go, go, go, _go_! Get out of here before you interrupt whatever it was that they were doing even further than you already have! Move you useless legs! _Move_ damn it!

After escaping from the clubroom, and calming down somewhat, I found myself casually walking down the corridors, just like a lot of other students who for some reason didn't feel like getting into their classroom. But something disturbed me about all of these people.

Why the hell do they keep whispering and glancing at me!? Is there something on my face? Just what the hell is going on!?

After coming to the conclusion that I don't have anything on my face – I caught my reflection in a window, and the only thing strange about me was a look as if I was being hunted by someone, which isn't really that unusual for me – I began to wonder of what else could have made the entire school very much aware of me.

Why does Taniguchi's face show up when I think about reasons for all of this?

Wait… could there be people other than Taniguchi suddenly getting the idea that Haruhi and I are going out? That would actually explain a lot…

So, I guess there is a rumor going around telling people that I'm together with Haruhi.

Lets see, options, options… I could run back home, fake illness and hope that it'll have blown over by the time I'm forced back to school – not likely – or I could try to confront the ones spreading the rumors, but that would probably only make them spread faster. Finally there's the option of ignoring it – and hoping that Haruhi doesn't catch of wind of it.

I guess I'll just try to ignore it for the time being, it's not like it'll get any worse than this, right?

Cue rain.

Apparently Haruhi had managed to catch this rumor, which wasn't really that surprising, although it _did_ make things more complicated in a way. The good thing about this was that it meant that I didn't have to keep Haruhi from finding out, the bad thing was that I had to stop her from reacting to what the rumors might say. The bad thing was proven to be far too true for my liking as the largest of the disturbances caused by the rumors took place during our first break.

Apparently _someone_ had come up with the idea that Haruhi and I had been secretly dating for months, I flat out denied it, of course, and so did Haruhi, although she might've been blushing. After that, there was… chaos. I'm not really sure of exactly what happened, but the end result was a male student clutching his nose – considering the words that I'd been able to pick up from him – I couldn't actually blame the girl that I was currently restraining.

"Let go of me Kyon! He's insulted the honor of the SOS Brigade! He must be punished!" I'm not really sure exactly how I was able to restrain her, she's much stronger than me after all, but I began to drag her out of the classroom.

"Calm down Haruhi, if you beat him up there'll be consequences," I was actually a little disappointed in my – by now almost instinctive – reaction to keep Haruhi away from the law, I wanted to beat him up too.

We began our journey towards the clubroom, I didn't really want to let her out of my sights until this whole thing died down a bit. What use is it to restrain her from beating down one guy, when she beats down two more the moment you turn your back on her?

Thankfully the clubroom was empty, I only realized the reason that I was thankful for this a little while after entering. The shock of the rumors had sort of made me forget the awkwardness of interrupting Nagato and Koizumi earlier this morning. What _had_ they been doing anyway?

Oh well, I have other things to concentrate on.

I wonder if Haruhi has some kind of crazy scheme to make all of these rumors stop? If she does, then I hope that it isn't illegal, and if she doesn't, then I hope that all of this is just a bad dream and that I'll wake up in a moment.

Hope has never really worked well for me, in fact, I could almost say that it seems that hope has some kind of personal grudge against me. I mean, I understand Murphy's law is a _law_, but there should be a _limit_ right?

"Kyon," breaking free from my internal monologue, I look towards the beautiful girl, "have you been telling people strange things?" if I'd been drinking something, I'd have choked on it right now.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!? Why would I do something like that!?" she answered me with a pout.

"Well, where else did they get all of these rumors from?"

That's a good question, unfortunately, I don't have an answer to it. If I'd had one though, you'd be the first to know, although I might end up injuring him before telling you.

"Fine, then who would want to spread a rumor like that?"

Why does Taniguchi's face keep showing up in my head whenever I think about these rumors? Sure he does seem to enjoy poking fun of my relationship with Haruhi, but it's not like he'd start spreading rumors like this, right?

Finally the break ended and we began to move back to class, I think we actually ended up enforcing the rumors of us dating by going together like this, but it couldn't be helped.

The class was very much the same as usual, although I did adopt the 'staring out of the window whilst ignoring everything else' act from Haruhi in order not to notice the occasional glances from the rest of the class, meaning that I didn't actually _learn_ anything.

When lunch came, I quickly grabbed Haruhi before she could run off towards the cafeteria, she might seem like she'd calmed down, but I still didn't want to take any chances. Urging her to follow me, we begin our walk towards the clubroom. I'm being forced to sacrifice my lunch in order to protect the students, but do they thank me for it? No, they make up rumors about me dating _Haruhi_.

Finally we arrive in front of the clubroom and I raise my hand to knock on the door, but then I stop. What are those strange noises? Haruhi looks impatiently at me.

"… I see…" an almost shy sounding pause, "Itsuki…" Nagato's voice makes me freeze.

Did she just call Koizumi by his first name? Since when does she do that!? Does this have something to do with the strange feeling I got earlier today? I don't know, but I do know that I will _not_ experience that awkwardness twice in one day! I turn around, grab Haruhi, and set off in another direction, there should be some place, other than here, where we can eat my lunch peacefully.

Haruhi seemed as if she wanted to protest, but actually snapped her mouth shut after a glance from me. On a side note, I really want to learn how to make that glance on a conscious level, it'd be sure to come in handy someday.

Finally locating a place where we won't be disturbed by others, we begin to split my lunch. That's a blatant lie by the way, Haruhi stole it from me and now she's eating it all by herself. How could anyone possibly think that I've fallen for a girl like this? I mean, just look at her, it's like she's evil incarnate!

She does look kind of cute when she's stuffing her face like that though… bad thought, bad thought. I'm just going to blame this one on hunger.

"So," Haruhi actually had mercy on me, leaving a few scraps for me to eat, "who's been spreading rumors about us?"

I have no idea, but I don't think we'll be able to find the culprit. Once a rumor has started it gains a life of it's own after all, it probably has about twenty different sources by now.

"I refuse to admit defeat because of a lame reason like that! We're going to get to the bottom of this, even if we have to question every student in this school!" she grabs me, dragging me to my feet, and takes off.

You know, I actually can't help but feel that this is an admirable aspect of Haruhi. Refusing to back down no matter what, jumping headfirst into everything. Limitless energy as well as confidence, once she has a goal she's unstoppable. I repress a smile, can't have that right now, we've got other things to worry about.

There were more than one rumor it appears. Not only about me and Haruhi, but also about the rest of the Brigade.

Apparently Tsuruya got driven to school together with Asahina, and although that isn't really strange considering that they're friends. For some reason there is now a rumor that more than just 'sleeping' happened during the night, I don't really need to elaborate on that rumor do I? Haruhi seemed more intrigued than anything, saying something along the lines of 'Well, yuri is popular right now so I'm going to allow it.'

Personally I don't think that that's a reasonable reason for accepting a relationship, but I guess this'll have to do since this is Haruhi we're talking about.

There was more rumors however, and one of them addressed something that interested me. The reason as to why Koizumi and Nagato were acting so weird. According to the rumor, the two of them were actually a couple, but there was no clear indication how far they'd come. Haruhi reacted to this rumor with more… aggression, than she'd displayed about Asahina. She seemed like she wouldn't believe a rumor like that until the two of them outright confessed it to her.

Me on the other hand were starting to suspect that whoever thought up all of these rumors might actually be on to something, in this case. I refuse to admit that I'm in any way attracted to Haruhi. Even if she happens to have perfect legs… it's true, you can't exactly deny that, and it doesn't mean that I'm attracted to her in any way.

Someone had for some reason spread rumors about the love lives of the entire SOS Brigade, Haruhi was convinced that it was some sort of ploy of some kind of rival. I wasn't really listening, I was too busy looking at the way her eyes seemed to lit up… okay, this is starting to get ridiculous. Get on with the story already.

We weren't able to find any information on who the perpetrator might be before the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Returning to the classroom and taking our seats, the two of us began a race to see who could ignore the lesson the most. I think Haruhi won, but I'm not really sure. How would you even judge a race like that anyway?

Finally the school day ends, signaling to many students that they're allowed to go home, of course most probably have clubs to go to, but that's beside the point. Surely with all of the problems that we've had to deal with over the day, the club meeting must be suspended, right?

Of course not. Haruhi would never allow something like this to keep her away from her Brigade, in fact, I think the whole thing has actually made her even more ridiculously enthusiastic than usual.

As we walk we happen to pass by a window – it's a very ordinary window, the kind that you can see everywhere else in school, so I don't usually pay very much attention to it – still feeling somewhat awkward about looking at Haruhi – how am I supposed to look at her normally when I'm finding beauty in _every_ little thing about her, I'm serious on this one – I decide to instead look out this everyday window.

There is something strange about this very normal window, something about it that couldn't possibly be right. Something about the glass. The way it shows the schoolyard, and the people walking across it.

Haruhi – who's grabbed on to my hand so that I don't attempt to run away – is suddenly yanked to a halt as my legs freeze in place.

"Ughrya!?" managing to stand out from the masses even in her own undignified surprise, Haruhi turns towards me, anger apparent in her eyes, at least I think that that's the case, I'm not really paying attention since I'm staring out the ordinary window in absolute disbelief.

"What are you looking at Kyon?" curious as to what has brought on this sudden change in my behavior, Haruhi follows my eyes out the window.

We stare in silence for a while, Haruhi has frozen stiff as well, and I'm starting to wonder if this is all just some sort of seriously messed up dream. I kind of doubt it though.

"Is that…?" I nod, "With…?" I nod, "And are they…" I nod again, thankful that Haruhi didn't try to finish any of those sentences, lest my brain overheat from the sudden information.

We stare at the two forms – that seem to have almost melted together into one as they're sharing a kiss – in disbelief. Nagato and Koizumi… who in their right mind had seen that one coming?

Although the fact that our resident alien have finally found someone precious to her is somewhat relieving, it's still enough of a shock for me to worry about having a heart attack.

Koizumi on the other hand… well I guess I should be glad for him, but I just can't seem to actually feel that way. I wonder if it has something to do with him being the person who usually deliver bad news with an annoying smile, or if it's simply me being overprotective of Nagato?

Finally deciding that we really shouldn't be staring at the two of them – after all, things like these are private – I begin to drag the still dazed Haruhi away from the window, some passersby look at us funny and begin to whisper to each other.

I don't know how much more of this I can stand before I go ballistic, Haruhi, on the other hand seems to have finally snapped.

"For the last time! We're _not_ dating!" if I hadn't been holding on to her arm already, she probably would've jumped kicked them half to death, but since I was, and she wasn't counting on it, the students were able to run away before there was any actual damage inflicted on them.

"What the hell are their problem anyway?" ignoring Haruhi's angry muttering, I begin to drag her towards the clubroom, hoping to find at least some manner of refuge there, now that the two previously occupying it had left.

There were a few more encounters, and Haruhi and I ended up splitting dealing with them between us in an unconscious way that seemed to actually be fair – using Haruhi and fair in the same sentence usually means that you're being ironic, so it was a bit of a surprise.

Somewhere along the way we switched back to the usual position of her dragging me. I don't really know why but it feels strangely comfortable being dragged through the corridors by Haruhi, maybe it's simply because it's normal for the two of us, it's either that or I might be going completely insane.

The insane theory seems to actually be consistent, I mean, sure Haruhi _is_ attractive, but she's also seriously bad for the mental health of anyone that happens to be nearby. There is also the fact that I seem to find attraction in things about her that seems to be just stupid. I've heard the classical phrase 'I love everything about you', but even if I were actually in love with Haruhi – which I'm not, even if she's perfect in every way – there should be a limit, right? I wonder if there're medications to control this?

In an attempt to ignore Haruhi's unsettling perfection, I look down at the floor, only to notice the way her shoelaces are tied… if there really is a medication for this I'd really like some, this is getting bad. I mean, now I'm actually being attracted to her _shoelaces_! There must be something seriously wrong with me, there's no way in hell that a sane, average guy goes around praising a girl's shoelaces! Hell, this is probably definite proof of insanity!

…

Let's just ignore this and continue with our story…

Finally arriving at the door to the clubroom, Haruhi throws it open, completely disregarding that Asahina might've been changing inside.

There is a silence.

A silent so thick that it'd probably take hours to cut through it with a chainsaw.

The world had completely stopped to make sense, but that was to be expected – Haruhi _was_ god after all, it was only a matter of time before something like that happened.

I'm actually a little surprised that we hadn't heard anything special before the silence began, the two people on top of the table didn't look like they would be very quiet, although they were definitely quiet _now_.

It's a staring contest between both sides, but neither of the participants are finding it voluntary, so why can't anyone look away? I guess this is a lot like watching a train wreck, even if you want to, you just can't look away. Although, compared to a train wreck, I'd say this scene seems to have a lot more _underwear_ showing.

Somewhere deep within my subconscious I hear a very annoying voice saying, 'So, she stayed over with Tsuruya last night, huh?'

The awkward silence stretches on, there isn't any movement from either since everyone seems to have frozen solid.

Gah! This pisses me off! Would you guys stop proving all the rumors true!? It's kind of undermining all the work that I've put into _denying_ them!

Still, not a single movement, almost as if the silence was mocking me and my desperate struggle for normalcy. All I ever wanted was a normal school life. Is it really so much to ask? Then again, I guess I kind of enjoy most of the weird things that happen around Haruhi – my life might be stress inducing and near lethal, but at least it never gets boring – but I draw the limit to the weirdness when I get the feeling that _everyone_ – including me – are working against me.

You know what? Screw this, I'm going home. Haruhi can deal with the rumors on her own, it can't possibly get any weirder than it already is. Although, I do have this strange inkling that keeps telling me that I shouldn't be saying things like that out loud.

I turn away from the scene with the two scantly clad girls and begin my journey home – I'm still walking so it's not like I'm moving very fast.

Within a few moments Haruhi realizes that I'm not standing next to her anymore and turns around, searching for me.

"Kyon! How dare you leave your Brigade Leader alone in such an awkward silence! This totally means a death penalty you know!" having shaken herself free from her earlier state using rage, she proceeds to overtake me, grab my hand, and drag me out of the building with enthusiasm that's borderline to desperation.

It was when we exited the building that I began to wish that she hadn't been quite so enthusiastic – from the look on her face, a similar thought was passing through her head – because the person we ran into was the _last_ person I would've liked to meet at this particular moment.

In front of us stood the persons who's face had kept on popping up in my head throughout the day, Taniguchi looked at the two of us, and grinned.

"I guess the rumors were right, huh?" his eyes seemed to continue with a 'I knew it all along'. It was _very_ annoying.

Apparently, Haruhi had also noticed the look in his eyes, since she seemed to have this sudden urge to pound him into a puddle of goo. Unfortunately – because it would've been surprisingly enjoyable to watch - I couldn't allow her to do that, mostly because that would get her into trouble with the long arm of the law.

Grabbing onto the hand that was about to let me go, I began to drag her away. Maybe we can find some kind of refuge inside the classroom, since all of the students should've left by now.

Haruhi struggled only until Taniguchi disappeared from view, then she quieted down and allowed me to drag her onwards without objections – it reminded me a little of the way a caged bird will go to sleep if you put a blanket over it's cage.

The corridors we walked through were all quiet, only the faint sound of people in the courtyard, and the even fainter noises of the city, was there to disturb this peacefulness that surrounded us as we continued to walk.

I don't know when it happened, or who the main offender was, but we were walking hand in hand, fingers entwining. It was very pleasant. The kind of pleasant when you wonder if it might be nice if time simply stopped, leaving you able to experience it forever.

…

Of course, that was extremely stupid. Who in their right mind would want to spend eternity with Haruhi anyway?

Despite this, I still felt a little disappointed when we arrived at the classroom. Thankfully, the classroom was empty from people as well, everyone had already lef-…

Wait. Kunikida…? What was _he_ doing here?

Sitting on top of a desk, seemingly enjoying the view outside the window, was a friend of mine who wasn't _nearly_ as annoying as the perverted guy whom we'd just left. His presence though, was enough to shock the two of us. I mean seriously, didn't he have anything better to do other than sitting on top of desks and staring out windows during his free time?

Finally noticing our arrival, Kunikida turned towards us.

"Ah, Kyon," a quick glance at the girl accompanying me, "Suzumiya. What are the two of you doing here?"

I could ask the same to you, but I guess there was no place to escape towards, considering that Taniguchi would've probably followed me if I'd decided to go home.

"Eh? Couldn't you just stay in the clubroom? There's no way that he'd go in there, at least not without a _very_ good reason, right?" he seemed to have considered this on a previous occasion.

Unfortunately, there was no way we could've entered the clubroom. Ignoring the awkwardness of interrupting those two, there was also this feeling that it'd be _very_ bad for a guy to enter such a scene.

Kunikida didn't really seem to understand our predicament, but seemed to have decided to let it go, instead asking another question.

"So how come the two of you are holding hands? Are those rumors that you're going out really true?"

I stared blankly at our linking hands for a moment before realizing that we'd never actually let go of each other, Haruhi seemed to have a similar realization considering how her face was turning red. It was actually kind of cute to watch, leaving me with this burning desire to tease her somehow.

This is really bad, why the hell can't I go for more than – however long it has been since we entered the room – without beginning to find beautiful, cute, or in any other way attractive parts to this crazy Brigade leader of mine? I really must be going insane from excessive Haruhi-exposure.

Letting go of each others hands, in a way that didn't at all seemed like we were guilty of anything romantic, the two of us looked at Kunikida. I guess, even he had been unable to miss the rumors that'd been going around today.

"Of course I wouldn't be able to miss them," Kunikida smiled a little at something about our faces, "Taniguchi was the one who started them after all."

…

What?

There seemed to be a similar thought process going on right next to me, and I finally turned my dumb stare away from Kunikida, finding a slight prick of terror going through me as I see the murderous expression on Haruhi's face.

The terror however, was soon overwhelmed with a sudden urge to beat Haruhi to the punch – Taniguchi was going to die anyway, and it _would_ be _very_ enjoyable to be the one to harm him.

The windows passed by in a blur, the two of us racing through the corridors, the unpleasant feeling of danger as we descended the stairs at a rate that they clearly weren't designed for. It was a very exhilarating feeling, but that might've just been the rage boiling inside of me.

I'm not really sure how I was able to match Haruhi's immense speed, but we arrived together at the place where we'd last seen the goal for this murderous rage that we were both feeling.

Looking around, there was nobody that looked like him in the immediate vicinity. Finally slowing down, both hoping to think of a place to which he might've moved now, before the other did, so that we'd be the one to kill him.

Haruhi seems to have spotted something and set off at full speed once more, it took me only a moment before I did the same, because if she's running somewhere, then I'll follow her without second thoughts – it's kind of like how there exist shirts that say 'I'm a bomb technician. If you see me running, try to keep up,' on the back – it's just been engrained deeply into my marrow that whenever she runs, I must follow her no matter what.

Soon I'm able to spot the reason for her sudden acceleration. As Taniguchi turns around and spots the two of us charging at him, there is a momentary look of complete understanding on his face, and then, all I can see is his back, as he – literally – runs for his life.

If it weren't for the blinding rage that's surging through every fabric of my being at the moment, I'd probably be amazed by my sudden athletic ability – not to mention Taniguchi's – I'm not only keeping up with Haruhi, I'm actually running alongside her at the same pace, _without_ growing tired.

I'm not sure how long it's been since we started our chase, nor am I really aware of the exact places that we've passed by during it, but I think that we've must've run like this for hours, never slowing down. I think Taniguchi's desire to live is unnaturally high, no man should be able to run at his own top speed for hours on end – let alone at _Haruhi's_ top speed.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I can't help but wonder if Haruhi is somehow helping the two of us keep up with her using her powers. Maybe she doesn't want the chase to end since she believes that the moment it does she'll be found guilty of murder., then again, maybe I'm simply over thinking things. I'm still going to try my hardest to beat Haruhi to our goal, and then kill him before she gets a chance at it.

…

Something has changed.

My consciousness is suddenly awoken from the endless repetition 'run, run' as something in the chase has changed.

Taniguchi has stopped.

In front of him rises a unsurpassable wall. It's a dead end. Our query has entered one of those classic, backwater alleys dead end.

The chase has ended.

The inevitable has finally happened, and Taniguchi is slowly turning around to face his own imminent demise. The three of us are all breathing hard – which is surprising since, until this moment, I hadn't noticed my own desperate need for air – as we stare each other down.

I can see a small – very twisted – smile forming on Haruhi's beautiful lips, and I can feel my own mouth twitch in what I can only assume to be a very similar expression. Taniguchi on the other hand seems to be looking as if he wants to try and claw at the wall behind him with his fingernails in a desperate attempt to flee.

I know that Haruhi is moving as my mirror image as I take a slow step towards our prey.

This is where it ends. This is where Taniguchi ceases to be. This is a time for… _Vengeance_.

---We interrupt this program for an emergency broadcast. It's been brought to our attention that there will be an animated movie in which Nagato Yuki will _blush_. It is scheduled to be released in theaters on February the 6th 2010. We now return to our previously scheduled program.---

"Let us never talk about this, ever again," I nod.

There's no need for anything else as we make our way out of the bathroom in which we've cleaned up. The bathroom is located in my house which is – thankfully – not very far away from the dead end that we shall never speak of again.

Haruhi has already dressed herself in my clothes, something that I'm finding vaguely distracting, it's just something about how the clothes sit really loose on her small – but _very_ beautiful – frame, that makes it almost impossible to look at her without feeling my ears turning red.

This is a normal male reaction to the presence of a female, it has nothing to do with any feelings that I might have of Haruhi. It also means that though her disheveled hair is astonishingly cute, it has nothing to do with me, since I'm not being attracted to her at all…

I'm somehow starting to think that I'm truly fighting a losing battle right now. But I refuse to go down quietly! I will fight until the last drop of my blood spills on the ground! And then, even as I die, I shall stand proudly on my feet, refusing to fall to the insanity that seems to be ruling inside of my head!

That being said. I wish Haruhi was a little more aware of exactly how the clothes she's wearing looks. It's getting very hard to keep a track of my thoughts when the neckline slides down like that, revealing her bare – and uncomfortably attractive – shoulder.

Until her clothes dry, she'll be stuck here. Alone. With me. In my room, for reasons that I'm not really able to comprehend at this particular moment.

This is sort of distracting.

It's actually so distracting, that I was still trying to work out exactly why those soft looking lips of hers seemed to be moving, when she suddenly hit me over the head with a book.

"Oi! Pay attention Kyon! I'm trying to help you with your homework, at least _look_ like you're trying!" she seems to be pouting, which is almost enough to make me zone out again.

Damn this hormone filled body of mine!

Okay, calm down. Think of something else… something else… Why does the image of Nagato and Koizumi in the courtyard suddenly show up in my head? Because clearly, it isn't helping! Think of something else already damn it!

At least I'm not being attracted by her shoelaces this time… that was really disturbing. Unfortunately, her lack of shoelaces can easily be tracked to her cute bare feet.

What the hell could I've done in a previous life to deserve something like this!? I'm certain that I was framed! I'm innocent, now cut it out!

Haruhi's lips are moving again, and suddenly I can't do anything but stare.

I can't really say that I remember what happened next, it seems like everything just faded to white all of a sudden.

I'm brought out of this strange blank state by a fragrance that can only be described as heavenly – I couldn't describe it if I tried, but it easily surpasses any flower that has ever bloomed on this earth, under this loving sun and warm summer rains. In front of me is an angel – or is it a goddess? – looking back up at me with a slightly surprised – but strangely content – happy expression.

Her perfectly shaped, soft looking lips tastes like sunshine and fluffy clouds, with just a hint of… soap? That's weird. That's definitely strange. Why does something so perfect, taste of something as mundane as _soap_?

This realization kick-starts my thought process.

I'm kissing Haruhi.

I'm kissing _Haruhi_.

God help us all, I'm _kissing_ Haruhi!

Our lips part, the need for air forcing us to withdraw. I open my eyes, and stare into those deep, beautiful eyes. I kissed Haruhi. God help us all, because… as she smiles at me, I realize, that I'm not planning on stopping.

And so, once again, our lips meet.

---

**A/n: No Taniguchis was harmed during the making of this fanfic. Or was he? I can't remember… but no one was arrested for killing him, so I think he's fine.**

**This was actually meant to be a sequel to 'One Dance' with the theme 'lots of rumors' but it sort of gained a life of it's own, and became this.**

**The interruption was planned – although I didn't know how I'd do it at the time – and I'm really looking forward to 2010. Hope you enjoyed this.**


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